On June 14th, we bid farewell to St. Petersburg and flew to Moscow.

What an amazing city and nothing like what I expected before we began this trip! Yes, I knew about the “onion domes” but I didn’t expect them to be everywhere! (Oh, and just for the record, they are supposed to resemble flames and not onions, according to our Russian guide, Natalia.) Also, I had no idea that the Kremlin was so beautiful or that Red Square is a huge rectangle with gorgeous fountains, gardens, pedestrian walkways and arched bridges… I guess the pictures I had in my mind were of the depressing, carbon-copy, Stalinesque apartment buildings that come to mind when I think of communism. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of those, but what captures your attention when you are in this section of  Moscow is the fairytale buildings, statues, and fountains scattered everywhere you look. Also, the cleanliness amazed me. We were told that it’s not like that in much of the city, but there was no litter or graffiti anywhere in the area we were in. I couldn’t say that at all about Paris, Madrid, Prague or any big US cities that I’ve seen.

Anyway, our first stop was in front of St. Basils Cathedral to take, what Kori referred to as “Our family photo.”

You might have noticed that the sky was gray and that most of us were wearing jackets. When we arrived it was misting a bit and our guide apologized adding, “Our summer is very short in Moscow and it was yesterday.” We all thought that was funny. The weather didn’t improve much during our stay, but despite the weather, Moscow was/is beautiful.

After the photo-op, our bus took us to the Tsereteli Art Gallery  – I know you are thinking, “Not More Art!!! but this place was great! Zurab Tsereteli (a contemporary Russian artist) is still alive and, though in his 80s, still creating his wonderful art. We only had time to see “Apple Hall” display but I would have loved to see more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zurab Tsereteli’s work is displayed worldwide.

 

 

 

 

This magnificent work of Tsereteli’s was a gift from Russia to the US in commemoration of the terrorists’ bombing of the World Trade Center and the September 11, 2001 attack.

The Tear of Grief , also known as To the Struggle Against Terrorism Memorial, now stands on the peninsula of Bayonne, New Jersey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had been on the go since 6:30AM, so we headed to the hotel and got the rest of the day off. By the way, this was the view from our hotel window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the evening Tom and I had special plans. Our younger daughter, Traci, works for a company called White Swan which sells uniforms (scrubs, chef apparel…) and she has a customer in, believe it or not, Moscow! His name is Albert and she had arranged for us to have dinner with him.

Albert picked us up at the hotel and we spent a lovely evening seeing a couple of his stores (since we are in the uniform business also), eating at a intimate and wonderful sea food restaurant, talking business and business practices in Russia verses the US, talking politics, families, dreams for the future… Albert loves America, hates Putin, and was open, friendly and charming. Both he and the evening were delightful!

Bright (well, not so bright) but early the next day we were off again – that was hard since we hadn’t gotten back from dinner with Albert until 12:30AM uuug.

We  visited Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and Natalia talked about its amazing history.

Completed in 1812 this magnificent Russian Orthodox cathedral was the center for worship, culture, education and enlightenment. In fact it was the setting for the premier of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

I talked before about Stalin’s distain of religion. During his reign of terror, Stalin ordered the demolition of thousands of churches and synagogues. This was one of them. The Palace of the Soviets was to be built in it’s place but there were not enough funds for the project so instead they built a huge swimming pool in its place. Yes, I’m serious. Natalia remembers swimming in it as a child having no idea that a church had ever stood here.

*Yet another history lesson: Statistics show  that during the German siege on Russia, nearly 1,000,000 Russians died of starvation, froze to death, died of disease or were slaughtered by the German Nazis. During Stalin’s rule, 1934 -1940) it is estimated that, in what he saw as the cleansing of the race, Stalin was responsible for killing another million+ of his own people. The tyrannical socialist régime of the Soviet Union continued until 1991.

In one of our tour’s daily itinerary sheets it was written, “You may think that Russians sound angry or look sullen. In fact, the face that a Russian shows the public is very different from the face he shows his family and friends. Russians lived for so long in an environment of suspicion and distrust that they adopted attitudes and mannerisms for their own defense. When they are among family and friends, they are warm, caring, smiling and laughing.” I think that the more open, friendly face is slowly becoming the face of Russia. We saw it in Albert, the staff in the hotels, in restaurants and shops – a measured change that will grow as new generations grow up in a world very different than what their ancestors endured.

We are so incredibly lucky to have been raised in a country where we have had the freedom to be ourselves, state our opinions/beliefs, practice our religion, be who we want to be. It gives a whole new respect for the words “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Take a minute this Independence Day and be thankful that our country was founded on those truths.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was rebuilt to the exact specifications of the original as was the Grand Choral Synagogue and thousands of other buildings that had been demolished by both Nazis and Soviets. This church’s reconstruction was completed in 2004 – hope for a better future.

Our next stop – The Kremlin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The word kremlin means fortress and at the time this kremlin was built (1482 – 1495), every city had a kremlin. Moscow’s Kremlin covers 64 beautiful acres and is the seat of the Russian government.

 

 

We started out in yet another museum, but the Tretyakov Museum allowed us a glimpse of Russian art that we hadn’t seen in other museums. I loved the art here with its vivid colors and the expressive faces of the people in the paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then walked to the Moscow State Historical Museum.  It is huge and beautiful. Unfortunately there were no photographs allowed and, since we were in the Kremlin, I didn’t think it would be wise to try and sneak any. Actually I pretty much follow the rules most of the time…

Moving right along, we saw some of the other sights in the Kremlin including the worlds largest canon,

and the magnificent Assumption Cathedral

– yes, there is a church in the Kremlin. In fact there were at one time twelve of them, but only six of them have been rebuilt.

 

 

 

I’m ending this post with photos of the wonderful Red Square, which I found absolutely breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

 

As in most nations capitals, the Kremlin has its Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to honor those who died fighting for their country.

We were there just in time to see the changing of the guard.

 

 

 

 

 

By this time we were pretty hungry so we headed off to find a quaint local restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was off to wander Red Square. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so ends our European Adventure. It far exceeded my expectation and wildest dreams. I loved the history, the art, the architecture, the culture and especially the people.

 

Thank you for joining in our journey. Sharing it with you so enriches the experience for me. I love writing about it and I love hearing from you as we travel. So thank you again.

One quick PS – on the plane ride home Tom and I watched The Monument Men. If you liked the history parts of the posts, you really should see it. It’s a true and amazing story.

So for now, dos vidonnia – I can’t write it in Russian, but the meaning is, “Until we meet again.”

Next trip – Alaska!